Russia’s undeclared war against Ukraine will enter its seventh year in 2020. While fighting is now sporadic along the frontlines, Kremlin-backed forces still occupy much of eastern Ukraine and the death toll of Ukrainian soldiers continues to mount. Just the first three weeks of the new year resulted in 10 deaths for the Ukrainian army.
The overall death toll for the Ukrainian military killed in action since hostilities began in 2014 has reached 3,057 soldiers as of Jan. 22, according to the Kyiv Post count based on military and media reports. In 2019, at least 110 Ukrainian army fighters have been killed in the Donbas: April and July being the deadliest months claiming lives of 15 and 14 soldiers respectively.
Nearly 14,000 people have been killed in the Donbas and 1.5 million more have been displaced, according to the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Despite numerous ceasefire agreements, civilians are regularly exposed to active hostilities, particularly along the 427-kilometer “contact line” that divides the affected areas in the Donbas.
Below is the list of those known to have been killed in action from September until January:
JANUARY
Serhiy Dychek, 47, a soldier of the 130th Reconnaissance Battalion from Khmelnytskiy Oblast. He had been serving in the battalion since 2015. He was killed on Jan. 5 near the village of Vilniy close to Zolote in Luhansk Oblast when the Ukrainian army military vehicle hit the explosive. Dychek leaves a wife.
Serhiy Ratsun, 43, a soldier of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade from Khmelnytskiy Oblast. He used to work at a local factory until he was mobilized to the army. Ratsun took part in the Battle for Debaltseve in winter 2015 which is seen as a stinging defeat for Ukraine, when thousands of government troops retreated from the Donetsk Oblast town, most of them on foot through the surrounding fields. Ratsun never left the army after this. He was killed on Jan. 5 when a sniper hit him at the Ukrainian army positions in Krymske village in Luhansk Oblast. Ratsun leaves a daughter.
Ruslan Nasalskiy, 24, a soldier of the 109th Separate Mountain Assault Battalion from Cherkasy Oblast. He signed a contract with the army when he was 18 years old. Nasalskiy was badly wounded during the Ilovaisk Battle which was supposed to be where Ukraine’s army would break Russia’s proxy forces. But it turned into a bloody slaughter that ended the Ukrainian army’s advances, and left hundreds dead. After the recovery Nasalskiy returned to the army in 2016. He was killed on Jan. 5 near the village of Pavlopil in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves a wife and three children.
Mykola Dovzhenko, 23, a soldier of the 28th Mechanized Brigade from Odesa Oblast. He joined the army in 2017. Dovzhenko was badly injured when Russia-backed separatists opened fire at the Ukrainian army positions near the town of Krasnohorivka (Donetsk Oblast) on Jan. 9. He died in the hospital.
Oleksiy Kuchkin, 24, a soldier of the 92nd Mechanized Brigade from Kharkiv Oblast. He was killed on Jan. 15 when a sniper hit his head near the city of Avdiyivka in Donetsk Oblast. “(He was) the most responsible person while on duty. We have been together almost from the beginning… Very hardworking man. And it’s a horror, it’s a tragedy. I do not know how to describe it,” said Rostyslav Kopaylo, Kuchkin’s fellow soldier. Kuchkin leaves a wife and a son.
Ihor Khimichuk, 29, a soldier of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade from Zhytomyr Oblast. He was killed on Jan. 16 near the village of Novozvanivka in Luhansk Oblast. He leaves a wife and a son.
Valeriy Zakusylo, 32, a soldier of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade from Kyiv Oblast. He was killed on Jan. 18 in Luhansk Oblast (there were reports about him being killed in the village of Novozvanivka, however, the military press service reported that the Ukrainian army positions were attacked in the villages of Orikhove and Berezivske on that day). Zakusylo leaves a wife and two daughters.
Oleksandr Slobodanyuk, 48, a soldier of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade from Odesa Oblast. He had been in the military for 22 years. He was killed when Russia-backed separatists exchanged fire with the Ukrainian soldiers on Jan. 19 in Popasna district in Luhansk Oblast. Slobodanyuk leaves two children and two grandchildren.
Vasyl Mukha, 31, a soldier of the 56th Brigade from Kharkiv Oblast. He was killed in Donetsk Oblast by a sniper on Jan. 20. He leaves a father.
Mykola Sorochuk, 22, a soldier of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade from Volyn Oblast. He was killed by a sniper on Jan. 22 near the village of Talakivka in Donetsk Oblast.
DECEMBER
Dmytro Kaplunov, 38, a colonel of the Ukrainian State Security Service, a military officer of the special Alpha unit. He was killed on the night of Dec. 1, while performing a combat task to counteract the enemy positions near the occupied village of Starolaspa in Donetsk Oblast. Kaplunov received the Hero of Ukraine award posthumously.
Denys Volochayev, 37, a colonel of the Ukrainian State Security Service, a military officer of the special Alpha unit from Kyiv Oblast. He was killed on the night of Dec. 1, while performing a combat task to counteract the enemy positions near the occupied village of Starolaspa in Donetsk Oblast. Volochayev received the Hero of Ukraine award posthumously.
Dmytro Temniy, 28, a soldier of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade from Cherkasy Oblast. He was killed near Zolote village in Luhansk Oblast when the Ukrainian army positions were attacked by Russia-backed separatists on Dec. 7. Temniy leaves a wife and three-year-old daughter.
Andriy Voytovych, 29, a soldier of the 14th Mechanized Brigade from Volyn Oblast. He was killed in an explosion near the village of Zolote in Luhansk Oblast. Voytovych leaves a wife.
Viktor Pruskiy, 49, a soldier of the 14th Mechanized Brigade from Rivne. He was killed as a result of shelling near the village of Zolote in Luhansk Oblast. Pruskiy leaves a mother.
Serhiy Syrota, 22, a soldier of the 14th Mechanized Brigade from Volyn Oblast. He was killed as a result of explosion during the shelling near the village of Zolote in Luhansk Oblast. Syrota leaves a mother and two brothers.
Serhiy Mykhalchuk, 21, a soldier of the 4th brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine. Mykhalchuk was born in Kharkiv Oblast. He joined the army in 2018. Mykhalchuk was killed as a result of mortar shelling, covering his wounded fellow — he died on the way to the hospital. He leaves his parents.
Vasyl Lisitsyn, 28, a soldier of the 40th Artillery Brigade from Kirovohrad Oblast. He was killed by a sniper near Maryinka in Donetsk Oblast.
Herman Solovyov, 25, a soldier of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade from Dnipropetrovsk. Oblast. He was killed during the shelling near the village of Krymske in Luhansk Oblast. Solovyov leaves his mother in his native Kamianske in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
NOVEMBER
Herman Brodnikov, 23, a soldier of the 92nd mechanized Brigade from Kharkiv Oblast. He joined the army in 2016. On Nov. 7, he was on assignment near Butivka coal mine in Donetsk Oblast when Russia-backed separatists opened fire using the anti-tank missile system. Brodnikov’s death was instant. He leaves parents and a fiancée.
Hennadiy Motorin, 37, a soldier of the 92nd Mechanized Brigade from Donetsk Oblast. On Nov. 7, he was on assignment near Butivka coal mine in Donetsk Oblast when Russia-backed separatists opened fire using the anti-tank missile system. Motorin died in the hospital the next day.
Yuriy Khomik, 58, a soldier of the 14th Mechanized Brigade from Volyn Oblast. He was badly wounded during the shelling in Popasna district of Luhansk Oblast on Nov. 14. Khomik died in the hospital. He leaves a wife and a daughter.
Artem Sokolov, 32, a soldier of the 14th Mechanized Brigade from Kyiv Oblast. He died on Nov. 16 as a result of shelling in Luhansk Oblast (there were reports about attacks on the Ukrainian army positions near Krymske village on that day). Sokolov leaves a wife and two children.
Yevhen Korostyliov, 41, a colonel, a commander of the 121 Mountain Assault Brigade from Sumy. He was with the army since the start of the war, serving as the chief of artillery and the deputy commander of the brigade. He took part in battles for Krasny Lyman, Slovyansk, Kramatorsk, Lysychansk, Severodonetsk, Debaltseve, Shakhtarsk, and Avdiivka. Korostyliov became the commander of the brigade in September, 2019. He was killed near the village of Novotroitske in Donetsk Oblast on Nov. 19. Korostyliov leaves a wife, a son and a daughter.
Oleksiy Kapustyan, 27, a soldier of the 10th Mountain Assault brigade from Rivne. He volunteered for the army in 2014. Kapustyan was killed on Nov. 29 near the village of Vodyane in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves a three-year-old daughter.
OCTOBER
Yuriy Tyshyk, 28, a soldier of the 14th Mechanized Brigade from Volyn Oblast. He joined the army in 2016. Tyshyk was killed on Oct. 3 when his unit was on assignment in Luhansk Oblast. He leaves a wife and a son.
Oleh Reminniy, 33, a soldier of the 1st Tank Brigade from Cherkasy Oblast. He joined the army in 2017. Reminniy was killed during the shelling near Maryinka in Donetsk Oblast on Oct. 4. He leaves a wife and a son.
Ivan Deikun, 41, a soldier of the 28th Mechanized Brigade from Kirovohrad Oblast. He joined the army in 2018. He was killed during the mortar shelling near Krasnohorivka town in Donetsk Oblast. Deikun leaves a wife and a 16-year-old son.
Yuriy Volk, 22, a soldier of the 36th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade from Mykolaiv Oblast. Volk was one of eight children in his family. He was mobilized to the army in 2017. He was killed on Oct. 10. Volk leaves his parents in Mykolaiv Oblast.
Vyacheslav Kubrak, 33, a soldier of the 36th Separate Coastal Defence from Kherson Oblast. On Oct. 11, he suffered a landmine injury due to an explosion of an unknown device. Kubrak died later in Dnipro city hospital. He leaves a wife.
Yuriy Hromovych, 36, a soldier of the 92nd Mechanized Brigade from Kharkiv. He was killed by a sniper during an attack on the Ukrainian army positions near Avdiyivka. He leaves a wife and a son.
Yaroslava Nykonenko, 36, a soldier of the 101st Defense Brigade from Poltava Oblast. She and her sister both joined the army after their father Serhiy Nykonenko, a soldier with the 24th Aidar Battalion, was killed near the village of Triokhizbenka, Luhansk Oblast in early 2015. His unit was bombarded by Russian Grad missiles. Nykonenko was killed by a sniper shot in the head near Maryinka in Donetsk Oblast on Oct. 15. She was laid to rest beside her father in her native town of Myrhorod three days later. She leaves a 13-year-old daughter.
Stepan Kryl, 26, a soldier of the 36th Separate Coastal Defense from Luhansk Oblast. He joined the army in 2015. He was killed by a sniper near Vodyane village in Donetsk Oblast on Oct. 16. Kryl leaves a son.
Vitaliy Noskevych, 35, a soldier of the 28th Mechanized Brigade from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. He joined the army in 2017. Noskevych was killed by a sniper near Krasnohorivka town in Donetsk Oblast.
SEPTEMBER
Oleksandr Hrytsayuk, 47, a soldier of the 24th Mechanized Brigade from Cherkasy Oblast. He joined the army in 2017. On Aug. 25, Hrytsayuk got badly wounded and died on Sept. 1 in one of the Dnipro city hospitals. He leaves a wife and four children.
Andriy Protsenko, 24, a soldier of the 36th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade from Vinnytsia Oblast. He was hit by a sniper on Sept. 2 near the village of Vodyane in Donetsk Oblast. Protsenko didn’t make it to the hospital. He leaves his parents.
Eduard Shakhov, 25, a soldier of the Azov Special Battalion of the Ukrainian National Guard. Shakhov was born in Kherson Oblast but moved to Donetsk where he graduated from Donetsk National University. He joined Azov in summer 2015. He was killed by a sniper near the village of Zaitseve in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves his parents.
Mykhailo Tkachyshyn, 30, a soldier of the 53rd mechanized brigade from Kherson Oblast. He joined the army in 2017. He was killed on Sept. 5 while on assignment near the separatists-held city of Horlivka in Donetsk Oblast. Tkachyshyn leaves a wife and five-year-old son.
Mykola Obukhovskiy, 33, a soldier of the 36th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade from Mykolaiv Oblast. He tried to rescue his wounded fellow Oleksandr Linchevsky when he was badly wounded in the neck. He and Linchevsky died on the way to the hospital. Obukhovskiy leaves a wife and two-year-old daughter.
Oleksandr Linchevskiy, 21, of the 36th Separate Coastal Defence Brigade from Cherkasy Oblast. On Sept. 11, the Ukrainian army positions were attached by Russia-backed separatists near the village of Pavlopil in Donetsk Oblast. Linchevsky got deadly wounded during the shelling. He leaves his parents.
Valeriy Shaturskiy, 45, a soldier of the Donbas Battalion of the National Guard of Ukraine from Kherson Oblast. He joined the army in 2014. He was deadly wounded by a sniper on Sept. 12 when his battalion was under attack from the Russia-backed separatists. Shaturskiy leaves a wife and children.
Mykhailo Tsymbalistiy, 34, a major in the intelligence unit of the 74th Reconnaissance Battalion from Ternopil Oblast. His dad was in the military and Tsymbalistiy followed in his footsteps and joined the Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi National Ground Forces Academy in Lviv. He was with the army since the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine in spring 2014. “Mykhailo was one of the best cadets of our Academy, a decent, disciplined and dedicated young man, a true patriot of Ukraine. And this is not surprising, because he comes from an officer’s family, where patriotism and love for the Motherland were nurtured from birth,” the Academy’s director Pavlo Tkachuk wrote on his personal page on Facebook. Tsymbalistiy was killed near Pavlopil in Donetsk Oblast on Sept. 14. He leaves a wife.
Maksym Kondratyuk, 26, a soldier of the 8th regiment of the Special Operations Forces from Khmelnytskiy Oblast. Kondratyuk joined the army in 2014. He was deadly wounded on Sept. 14 as his group was returning from the assignment in Luhansk Oblast. Kondratyuk leaves a wife and a daughter.
Vladyslav Roi, 25, a soldier of the 53rd Mechanized Brigade from Zaporizhzhya Oblast. He used to work at a farm. He joined the army in spring 2019 after serving with the territorial battalion. on Sept. 17, Roi was deadly wounded by shrapnel after Russia-backed separatists opened fire at the Ukrainian army positions near Pivdenne village in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves a mother and a sister.
Andriy Storozhuk, 27, a soldier of the 28th Mechanized Brigade from Vinnytsia Oblast. He joined the army in 2015. Storozhuk was deadly wounded on Sept. 24 near Maryinka in Donetsk Oblast. He leaves a wife and a two-year-old son.
Oleksandr Markiv, 38, a soldier of the 4th Brigade of the National Guard from Kyiv Oblast. A lawyer by profession, Markiv was also passionate about his military history club where he took part in historical reenactment of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army battles of the 20th century. He joined the army in 2014. He was deadly injured on Sept. 27 near Svitlodarsk in Donetsk Oblast. Markiv leaves a wife and a 9-year-old son.
Volodymyr Adzhavenko, 24, a soldier with the 56th Motorized Brigade from the coastal town of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine. He joined the Ukrainian army when he turned 20 and took part in battles for Shyrokyne and Maryinka in Donetsk Oblast. Adzhavenko was deadly wounded near the village of Pisky in Donetsk Oblast on Sept. 11 and was transported to Dnipro city hospital where he underwent surgery. He died on Sept. 28. Adzhavenko leaves his parents and wife.
